New Hope
by SilverSmile
Summary: The war is over and Harry leads the eighth years as they rebuild Hogwarts; they find that the castle isn't the only thing they're fixing. As Draco tries to find his place in this new world, could his old enemy be his only salvation? AU after 7th book, DxH
1. 1 Returning to Hogwarts

So I've finally gotten this chapter reviewed and I've taken into consideration some of the suggestions people have made about it previously in reviews and have adjusted some aspects of the wording accordingly :)

Thanks to everyone who previously reviewed, I'm now going to slowly begin to upload more chapters.

**Important!**

**While this story does follow the seven books mostly, there are a few key differences.**

**Fred did NOT die. I had to change this as I can honestly not see Ron being at all forgiving about it and I need his support behind Harry 100%. **

**Similarly, Snape did NOT die. He was just severely injured and is spending the entire summer in Mungo's recovering. **

**Also, Teddy was born a few years before the end of the war, making him about five in this story. Remus and Tonks still died in the war, but a little earlier, when Teddy was about two. **

I think that's about it for that, if there's any other major changes then I'll be sure to put it in the notes at the beginning of the chapter.

Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.

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**New Hope**

**Chapter One – Returning to Hogwarts **

It was the first day of yet another summer holiday. The battlegrounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were silent. Huge chucks of stone littered the grounds along with fallen tree's and broken glass. Inside the castle the Great Hall was blackened with the result of spells having missed their marks. The four tables were charred, splintered and obliterated in some areas. Windows were smashed, the library a mess, random classrooms destroyed – there were even some gaps in the castle walls and the occasional corridor had caved in completely. Flights of steps lead to nowhere and the occupants of the pictures had long since hidden.

A lone figure walked through the broken gates of Hogwarts, one side of the grand gates only holding on by a few rusting screws. He walked quietly, but determinedly, up the path towards the one place he'd ever truly called home.

It felt strange, being back here with no one else around. It was oddly quiet, even the Forbidden Forest was silent, as if out of respect for all those who had lost their lives here a few short weeks ago. For those who's lives had been completely changed, their futures that had been stolen.

As he passed through where the doors to the Entrance Hall had once been, Harry Potter paused.

"Kreature?" He called out softly.

A loud crack announced the arrival of the House Elf, all big eyes and ears, stained pillow case and crooked teeth.

"Master Harry Potter is wanting Kreature?" He asked in a squeaky, hopeful voice.

"I'll be staring here for a while, so why don't you head down to the kitchens and see if you can find yourself somewhere to stay." Harry said with a small smile at the elf.

"Yes, Master Harry Potter." With another loud crack the elf was gone and Harry continued on his way up to the seventh floor. He had to take a different route twice due to a caved in corridor and a missing set of stairs, but Harry finally found himself standing before the Room of Requirement.

Taking a deep breath, he walked past the stone wall three times; thinking of a place he could comfortably stay in for a while. He was relieved when a door appeared before him. He had been concerned that the fire might have destroyed the room completely.

Turning the door handle, he found a simple room with a large fireplace, couch, a small table with two chairs, a large four-poster-bed in the far corner and a door that he assumed would lead off to a bathroom. It was exactly what he needed.

He went over to the couch before the fire and dropped himself into it. Staring into the fire, he allowed his mind to wander for a moment, but images of the war quickly began to fill his mind. Sighing, he sat up as a small coffee table with parchment, quill and ink appeared before him. Sighing again, he began to pen two letters.

'_Dear Hermione, _

_ How are you?_

_ How are your parents taking it all?_

_ Currently, I'm at Hogwarts. There's a lot of work that needs to be taken care of if the school is to open again in September. As McGonagall is in St Mungo's for the foreseeable future, I thought it'd give me something to do besides testify at trials and listen to people act like prejudice twits._

_ Don't worry about me though – I'm perfectly fine. Just tired from everything, it's been so busy lately… Though what with the end of the war I guess that's to be expected. _

_ Anyway, just letting you know what I'm up to. I'm not sure if I'll see you some time this holiday. But if not, it'll be on the train on September 1__st__._

_ Write back soon,_

_ Love, Harry.'_

Taking another piece of parchment, Harry began another letter.

_'Dear Ron,_

_ How are you?_

_ How's Fred recovering? Is he demanding outrageous things just because he's stuck in bed?_

_ I'm staying at Hogwarts for now, peace and quiet from all the people being prejudice morons towards the families of Death Eaters. While I understand we should be cautious I don't think the Minister standing on his pedestal should be declaring them dark by association. If it wasn't for some of them turning we'd never have been able to get all the information which ultimately lead to the defeat of HIM. Honestly, it was driving me nuts! _

_Anyway, the castles__' in pretty bad shape, as is to be expected, I guess._

_ So, how's your family doing?_

_ Love, Harry.'_

Once finished, Harry folded both letters up, sealed them, and then left them on the table. With a small pang of sadness, he was reminded that he'd have to hope there was a school owl around now that he didn't have Headwig anymore.

With yet another sigh, he reclined back on the couch, eyes reflecting the glowing flames as his thoughts drifted unavoidably back to the war once more.

*****()**

Harry spent the next two days walking around the castle with a piece of parchment and a self-inking quill, compiling a list of things that needed to be fixed before the school could safely be opened again. As it was, it came as a surprise when Kreature appeared before him while he was noting down yet another caved in corridor on the second floor charms corridor.

"Master Harry Potter. Miss Granger is waiting for yous in the Entrance Hall." The elf squeakily informed him.

Surprised, Harry shoved the quill and parchment away in his cloak pocket.

"I'll be right there." He said as the elf nodded before disappearing with a loud crack.

Harry made his way down to the Entrance Hall, walking along the right side of the once Grand Staircase as the left had been blasted off. The witch stood beside two large trunks, a nervous look on her face as she bit her lip while waiting for him to approach.

"Mione?" Harry called out, confusion colouring his voice as he eyed the trunks. "What's with all the luggage?" Though his tone was light, it did the last thing he'd expected it to.

Hermione's big brown eyes suddenly filled with tears and she ran over to him, almost knocking him over as she threw her arms around his torso.

"Oh H-Harry! They were s-s-so angry about A-Australia. I was beginning to g-get desperate when they t-told me I had a-a w-we-week to get out. Th-They kicked me o-out! I didn't know wh-what to do, but I got your le-letter so I-I came here." She suddenly pulled away and looked up at him with wide eyes.

"I-I'm sorry! Pl-Please, don't be m-mad."

Harry just looked at his normally calm and composed friend in shock. As her words slowly sunk in, he grabbed her and pulled her back into his protective embrace.

"Mione, I could never be angry with you, you silly girl. You're one of my best friends and I'll always care about you. Of course you're welcome here, you're always welcome wherever I am." He pulled away slightly so he could look into her tearful brown eyes.

"We're family, remember?"

His simple words caused her to cry harder as she latched onto him, tears quickly soaking through his shirt, though neither appeared to care.

*****()**

Harry spent the rest of the afternoon and evening in the Room of Requirement, the girl who was his sister in all but blood wrapped up safely in his arms. It was as the clock chimed seven that she finally spoke again, tears finally having stopped falling.

"Sorry." Her voice was horse from crying so much.

"You don't need to apologise to me. You were upset, it's perfectly normal to cry and want a hug." As he spoke he tightened his arms around her slightly.

They were silent for another moment before his stomach grumbled loudly. Hermione suddenly burst into giggles as she pulled herself up and stood.

"I'm going to wash my face, you can grab us some food." She said before disappearing into the bathroom.

Calling Kreautre, Harry got them both some dinner before going over to his own trunk and rummaging around for a clean shirt. As he was pulling his tear-stained top over his head, the quiet click of the bathroom door alerted him to Hermione's return.

"Kreature's grabbing us something to eat." He said, turning around and pulling his clean shirt on.

"You're lucky I'm not one of your crazy fans; getting shirtless in front of me." She teased him gently. Rolling his eyes, Harry went back to the couch and sunk into it again.

"Mione, we're practically family. There's nothing weird about my sister seeing me without a top on."

A pleased flush suddenly covered her cheeks as she smiled at him warmly before flopping down beside him.

The two spent the next few hours in comfortable conversation as they ate dinner. It wasn't until they were ready for bed that Hermione's new insecurities showed through again.

"Do you mind if I stay with you tonight?" she asked quietly, before beginning to babble at the surprised look on his face.

"Just next to you on the bed; just for tonight. I just – I just don't want to be alone tonight." Her voice trailed off in a whisper.

Harry smiled slightly at her in understanding. He knew that feeling of just wanting to be around someone who cared, when it felt like they were the only person in the whole world who would care that you weren't happy. The feeling of not wanting them to be even a foot away from you for the fear that they might leave you. While a completely irrational fear, Harry was sure that the feelings of betrayal and hatred coming from her parent's wouldn't have helped.

"Come on then, I'm sure you're tried. It's been a long day." Harry said, turning towards the bed.

They climbed in and Harry doused the lights, leaving them both lying on their backs beside each other. Everything was silent and still for a moment before Harry felt a small hand curl around his much larger one.

"Harry?" Hermione's quiet voice broke the silence. "Thanks for – you know." There was a beat of silence before she gently squeezed his hand.

"Love you, my brother."

Harry was glad for the darkness, so she couldn't see the ridiculously pleased grin that covered his face at her words.

"Love you too, my sister."

She seemed to let out a breath as his words and relaxed as he squeezed her hand back. He heard her shift slightly and before long her quiet, even breathing announced she was asleep.

As Harry lay there, slowly falling asleep, for once his mind wasn't plagued with images of the war and the horrors of that time. Instead he was thinking about the girl beside him, promising himself that he would look after her at all costs. She was now alone in the world, just like he was. Though he knew the Weasley's would take them in without a second thought – it was in their nature to do so – having just one person who understood your situation from experience made all the difference.

As he finally felt sleep claiming him, his last thought was one of hope for the future and a feeling that he was finally on the road home.

*****()**

"So, how much work is there to be done, really?" Hermione asked over a cup of tea the next morning. Harry looked up from his breakfast of hash browns, toast, bacon and eggs. Taking a moment to chew as he rested an elbow on the small breakfast table they were seated at, he gave her a thoughtful look.

"Well," he began slowly, choosing his words carefully. "There are bits and pieces all over the place, the Great Hall's completely destroyed and you saw what the Grand Staircase looks like. Some of the corridors have completely caved in and stairwells lead to nowhere. Then there's all the rubble and stuff on the grounds." He shrugged casually, trying not to dwell on the reasons why everything was so badly damaged.

"So," Hermione began dryly. "Just a bit of work to do?"

"I've got a list of what I've found so far." He said, leaning over to his cloak and pulling out a large wade of parchment before handing it over to her.

"Hmm." Was all she said as she began skimming the list, mentally highlighting the largest and most important things they'd need to fix.

Harry, for his part, continued eating his breakfast. He was used to her going over everything mentally before offering an opinion on something. They sat that way for five minutes before Hermione made a definitive noise.

"Right… ok, we're going to need some help with this one." She glanced up across the table for Harry's thoughts.

"Is it possible to get it all done before September?"

"With enough people working on it every day, we should just manage. It might also be a good refuge for some of our friends…" She offered the last bit with some hesitation. Harry looked at her carefully and could already see her mind ticking over various ideas and plans. Clearing his throat, he finished his breakfast and drank the last sip of his tea; Harry gave her a reassuring look.

"I'm sure whatever it is you've got spinning around in that head of yours will end up being a good plan. You do what you need to while I go out and check I've got everything, ok?" He asked, standing up from their small breakfast table.

"Ok then, I'll get started on it right away." She agreed, passing the list back to him.

Nodding, Harry left her to it and went on his own way, quietly confident that she'd figure everything out for him. He felt much more optimistic about getting everything completed on time now that he had her here over-seeing everything for him.

*****()**

The two only saw one another in passing during lunch, when Harry stopped by to grab some sandwiches and Hermione briefly looked up from the mound of parchment she was hovering over.

It was at dinner that Hermione's plan became obvious to Harry. He had come back to the Room of Requirement a little after sunset, having lost track of time in the dungeons, only to be greeted by three faces rather than the expected one.

"Harry, mate!" Neville Longbottom stood from his seat before the fire.

Grinning widely, Harry was pulled into a manly hug by the taller, bulkier boy.

"Neville? What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Harry asked with a grin.

"Harry." Looking over, Harry's smile got wider upon seeing yet another of his fellow Gryffindor's.

"Dean, how are you mate?"

"Hermione here sent us an owl. Told us about a little 'prejudice and hero-worship' free summer project." Neville injected as Dean hugged Harry.

"With the way the world is going now, well, we jumped at the chance." Neville continued.

"Nev and me bumped into one another at the Gates. Figured we may as well come up here together. The castle looks like crap, by the way." Dean added, grinning the whole time.

"So, this is what you meant by help?" Harry asked, looking over to the only girl who was once again seated at the small table.

"Well, really, our year was seriously disrupted by the war, so I thought; what better way for us all to reconcile than with this project?" Hermione shrugged.

"Who else did you invite?" Harry asked as the other two boys sat down again and Harry walked over to join her at her table.

"Well, now don't be mad, but I invited our whole year. As in, everyone from all four houses." She said the last bit quietly, biting her lip in fear of incurring his anger.

Harry took a moment to understand what she meant before he took a deep breath and reminded himself that this was a new world he wanted to help create. He needed to let go of past wrongs just as much as everyone else.

"Mione, this is the beginning of a new world for all of us. Anyone who wants' to continue to hold onto past grudges and blood supremacy beliefs can bugger off for all I care." He said it in a gentle manner, but his eyes seemed to almost be on fire with determination.

She gave him a small smile before pointing to the food on the table.

"Don't forget to have dinner."

Smiling, he let out a small chuckle before sitting down and doing as he was instructed.

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**Please Review.**


	2. 2 The Project Members

The new chapter is here and the first chapter has been revised. There was just bit of fleshing out in the first chapter and clearer explinations :)

Thanks so much to those who reviewed the first chapter, your constructive criticism was very helpful and appreciated.

Sorry about this taking so long, uni work took over and I've been doing little but since.

**Important!**

**Draco never took the Dark Mark. **

Disclaimer - I don't own the characters.

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**Chapter Two – The Project Members **

"She was driving me absolutely crazy!" Ron Weasley complained loudly as he sat down before the fire in the Room of Requirement with a heavy sigh. It had been two days since Hermione had sent out the invites to come to Hogwarts. Since then Hannah Abbot and Susan Bones had turned up. Ron had just arrived, a frown on his face as thoughts of his overbearing family remained at the forefront of his mind.

"I'm sure she's just worried about Fred. He did almost die, you know." Harry said softly, unintentionally causing images to flash before Ron's minds eye as a shiver ran down his spine.

He would never forget the sight of his brother lying on the ground beneath the rubble, so still Ron had feared for the worst. It wasn't until an almost hysterical George had pulled Fred into his arms and let out a relieved laugh, loudly proclaiming that his twin was still breathing, that Ron himself had breathed once more.

In a bizarre twist of fate, not second's later another chunk of ceiling had fallen and would have crushed both twins if it hadn't of been for Draco Malfoy – of all people. The blond had used a simple levitation spell with a wand he must have stolen at some point, but it had been enough to spare their lives, giving George, Ron and Percy enough time to get everyone to safety.

The horror of coming that close to loosing two of his brother's had later helped Ron to accept and support Harry's ideas for a free new world, one not tarnished by hatred or greedy ambition.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he let out a loud sigh.

"Yeah, I know that. But she's got to back off a bit. I could hardly breath there. I mean; I got so used to us just doing our own thing without thinking about our parent's thoughts on it. Then to have mum on over-drive and constantly breathing down my throat…" He just shook his head as he rubbed his eyes.

"Don't worry mate, you're here now." Dean tried to console him. Ron, however, laughed bitterly.

"Yeah, you wouldn't believe the argument that caused. It was like Charlie moving to Romania all over again. I wouldn't be surprised if Ginny's stuck eating sandwiches for the next two weeks." Ron mused, a small amount of amusement hitting him at the thought of his mother burning all the food, as she would be too annoyed to focus properly.

"It'll get better, don't worry." Hermione leaned over the back of the couch to give him a warm, encouraging smile, bracing herself with a hand on his shoulder. Ron noticed with a small frown that her usually warm brown eyes were darker than normal, a small crease between her brows telling him that she wasn't as ok as her smile lead him to believe.

He glanced at Harry who was looking at him and shook his head slightly, as if reading his mind. Deciding to follow his lead, Ron said nothing, but made a mental note to ask Harry what was wrong with their female best friend later.

The room lapsed into a comfortable silence as the boys sat before the fire and the three girls sat further back reading their textbooks and magazines respectively. The silence was finally broken by the sound of the door slowly opening.

All eyes turned to the door along with their owner's wands, bodies tense and curses on the tips of their tongues.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Dean snarled, standing up from his seat, dislike shinning in his eyes as he gazed at the Slytherin before them.

Blaise Zabini stood stiffly in the doorway, one hand still holding the doorhandle as if unsure if he should just close the door again and leave.

"I received a letter…" He trailed off, a piece of parchment held in his hand that everyone recognised as one of the letters Hermione had sent out.

"You sent Death Eater scum a letter?" Susan spoke up in an uncharacteristically scathing voice. Obviously the loss of her Aunt had affected her confidence to speak up.

Harry suddenly stood up, putting an end to any further comments as all eyes flickered to the clear leader in the room.

"Blaise Zabini was declared innocent of all charges." Harry's voice was emotionless.

"He tortured people; he never went against the Death Eaters!" Susan yelled furiously.

"It was a war, we all did things we're not proud of." Harry snapped back, shocking them all into silence with the truth of his words.

"The war is over, if you're going to continue with the hatred and ridicule that caused the war in the first place, you can leave immediately. Anyone who comes to Hogwarts this summer clearly wants to put the past behind them and start a new, better and brighter future for themselves and our world. There's no place for those who are stuck in the past here at Hogwarts this summer." Harry looked at all of the people present before moving over to Blaise. He ignored the tensing of the other boy at his approach, before the dark skinned boys' eyes widened comically at the hand suddenly offered to him.

"Harry Potter, Gryffindor eighth year." Harry offered a friendly, if slightly strained: smile, his eyes serious.

Slowly, Blaise let go of the door handle and grasped Harry's hand in a firm handshake.

"Blaise Zabini, Slytherin eighth year." He said confidently, though his brown eyes betrayed his nervousness.

"If you go over to Hermione you'll find she can sort out your schedule for the next few days. Right now, we're just doing small stuff while leaving the big stuff for when more people arrive." Harry said, leading the still nervous boy over to where Hermione was sitting.

"You'll look after Balise, won't you Mione?" Harry sent her a soft, teasing smile. Rolling her eyes she stuck out her own hand, appearing friendly enough, though a hidden test sparkled within her brown eyes.

Blaise, smart boy that he was, saw the test for what it was and offered his own small smile as he reached out and took her hand.

Blaise glanced at Harry in time to see him shooting a warning look at the others in the room before he turned back to Blaise, clapped him on the back in a surprisingly friendly manner before he moved back over to the couch before the fire.

"So," he looked back at Hermione at the sound of her voice. "What are your best subjects?" She asked with an almost shy smile.

***()

The two weeks that followed saw many more of their fellow year-mates arrive. Seamus Finnigin and Lavender Brown showed up together, having met up in the Great Hall while Parvarti and Padma Patil came with Lisa Turpin. Terry Boot, Micheal Corner and Anthony Goldstein all happened to turn up on the same day. While Justine Finch-Fletchley, Erine Macmillan and Zacharias Smith completed Hufflepuffs representation. Millicent Bulstrode, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson arrived and gave Blaise some Slytherin company.

It was exactly two weeks since Hermione had arrived that Harry woke early. He quietly crept out of his bed, mindful of the other beds in what had been labelled as the 'boys dorm'. Due to the almost unanimous acceptance of Hermione's letters, the Room of Requirement had been separated into a few different rooms. It now housed a general common room, two large bathrooms as well as two large dormitories. A few doors down they had set up a temporary eating area reminiscent of the still damaged Great Hall.

Harry managed to shower and dress without having any startled wands pointed at him, though he was sure he'd felt a few pairs of eyes following him curiously. It was as he was about to leave the room when a voice spoke up, confirming his suspicions that people were awake but faking sleep.

"Harry? What's with the fancy clothes?" Neville asked, sounding far too coherent to pass off for someone who'd only just woken up.

"I'll not be here for the majority of the day, I've got a few errands to run." Harry said and slipped out the room before anyone could stop him.

"Errands?" Neville murmured.

"It's the Malfoy trials today." Blaise piped up, staring at the canopy of his bed blankly, arms folded behind his head.

Silence greeted his words; no one quite knowing what to say, as they knew Harry would have heavy sway on the verdict. What they didn't know was if Harry would be helping free the family, or condemning them to hell.

***()

Draco Malfoy sat staring in disbelief at the Ministry judge before him.

"If the Aura's would escort Lucius Malfoy back to his manner to begin his house arrest. Mrs Narcissa Malfoy and your son, Draco Malfoy, are free to go." The moustached man suddenly leaned forward and looked at them with beady little eyes.

"However, remember that the Ministry will be watching your every move. Put one toe out of line and you'll be back in here and next time you won't have as much luck."

A sound similar to that of a gong reverted around the room, announcing the end of the trial.

Feeling numb with shock, Draco followed his parents and the Aura's out of the courtroom. Ignoring the flashes of cameras and yelled questions by the press, he found his eyes fixing on the young man walking towards him.

"Malfoy." Harry Potter – Saviour of the world – stopped before him and offered what was a surprisingly friendly smile.

"Mr and Mrs Malfoy." He glanced at the duo with a small nod, before Draco became the focus of his attention again.

"You'll probably want to spend time with your parents," he began, completely stumping Draco. "However, if you find yourself needing something to do these summer holidays, a bunch of us are staying at Hogwarts and fixing it up after… well, we're fixing it up before school starts again in September. We've got every eighth year we could so it'd be great if you could come too." A very boyish grin crossed his face as he held out a letter.

"This is the letter everyone received…" Draco hesitantly reached out and took it, confusion almost overwhelming him.

"Why?" Was all he could get out, his throat feeling strangely constricted.

A flickering of emerald green and a soft smile were his answer as Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived-to-conquer, walked away.

"Everyone deserves a second chance." Floated back to him.

***()

No one was more surprised to see Draco Lucius Malfoy standing in the Room of Requirements the very next evening then Draco himself. He had opened the letter as soon as he had arrived back at the Manner, unable to wait a second longer.

'_Dear Eight__h Year Hogwarts Student,_

_ As you know, the war has ended and our world is beginning the mammoth task of rebuilding itself. However, this does not alter the fact that students are going to need a place to learn and grow. That place has always been Hogwarts. Unfortunately, due to certain circumstances, Hogwarts is in need of major repairs. For this job, you and your fellow year mates have been asked to help. _

_ This has nothing to do with the Ministry, any kind of publicity or any other organisation. What is being offered to you is a place of refuge from all the anger and ignorance currently circling around, being fuelled by idiots who can't keep their ridiculous accusation to themselves. _

_That being said, Hogwarts will not just be a refuge; it is a chance for you to use your skills to help heal both our beloved school and one another. _

_ If you cannot work peacefully along-side members from all FOUR houses, please do not come. _

_ I do hope you consider helping us build this future__,_

_ Hermione Granger (and Harry Potter).'_

Draco wasn't sure what to do or think. Ever since he had been a child, he had been told it was his duty to uphold the Malfoy name and honour. That family and blood where the two most important things in his life. He had lived by these teachings for sixteen years of his life. He had only began to doubt it during the last two years, ever since Voldemort had began the initiation process into the Death Eaters; he'd never been good enough for the mark, a fact he was infinitely grateful for today. It was then that he finally began to question if this was really the path he had wanted to follow.

After all, what good was it doing him? He only had a few friends, people were weary of him and others just plain didn't like him. How could such a lonely, despised existence be all there was in the world for him?

He wanted people to like him, to want to be his friend. He wanted to joke and laugh loudly in public. He just wanted to be free and accepted for who he was…

He wanted the freedom this letter was offering him.

After a sleepless night of pacing about his room, weighing up his very belief system against what could be a better and brighter future, he made his decision as the sun rose. He packed his bags and went downstairs to where he knew his parent's bedroom was. Flinging open the door in a manner he hadn't done since he was four and had awoken from a nightmare, he gathered the little courage he possessed ad squared his shoulders before entering the room.

"Mother, Father." He gave the two occupants of the room a nod.

"I'm going to Hogwarts to help with the restoration for the majority, if not all, of the summer."

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy sat sleepily up in bed, shocked more than anything by the appearance of their only son. As their minds cleared from sleep, confused looks crossed their faces.

"Draco, what in Merlin's name are you talking about?" Narcissa asked.

"I've received an invitation from Harry Potter and Hermione Granger to join them and our fellow year-mates at Hogwarts. We're to repair it before summers end so that it can be opened in September." Draco said tensely, praying his moment of confidence wouldn't prematurely desert him.

"Why would you want to do such a thing? They have house-elves and payed workers for that kind of thing." Lucius said dismissively. "Go back to your room and work on your studies if you insist on being awake this early in the morning."

Draco faulted as his father moved to lie back down, intending on going back to sleep. He could feel his resolve weakening in the face of adversity, but he then remembered the letter he'd put in his pocket. Discretely reaching into the pocket, his fingertips brushed the parchment and he felt his confidence return.

'_If Harry Potter can defeat a Dark Lord numerous times, I can surely stand up to my father!'_

"N-No," Draco protested, voice wavering slightly. His parents froze in what they were doing and looked over at their son in shock. Never had Draco spoken against what his father had told him to do.

"I'm an adult now. I-I will be going to Hogwarts once my trunk is ready. I've been offered a place there with people who are all heading for the same future as I. I want to be a part of that future." Draco took another deep breath. "If you can't accept my decision, well, I'm going anyway, I won't blindly follow you again!"

"Draco! Do not speak to your father and I like that!" His mother admonished him.

"No, I need to say this. I won't follow you both like some kind of trained pet! We should never have gotten involved with V-Vol-Vol-The Dark Lord; he was nothing more than a megalomaniac, so insane and believing in a ridiculous idea. Who really cares where someone comes from, who their parents are or how pure their blood is? I don't care anymore and neither should you. Just because we've got a magical history and lots of money doesn't mean anything in the long run. If we don't accept and love each other, if we're not free to make our own choices: we're nothing. We're just horrible people, too blind with self-importance to be happy." Draco finished his impassioned speech quietly, chest heaving and face slightly flushed.

Looking at his parent's faces, a mixture of shock and anger, he held his head high, an odd feeling of calmness and happiness welling inside of him.

'_I should have said this years ago.'_ He thought somewhat sadly.

"I am going to Hogwarts where I will find some kind of happiness and freedom. I will restore the name Malfoy, but it will be associated with generosity and warmth. If you both cannot accept that, then that is your problem." With his piece said and done, he turned and left his speechless parents sitting in their bed.

As he ordered the house-elves to collect his things, he kept a tight hold of the letter within his pocket, excess adrenalin still pumping through his system.

'_I did the right thing. This is what I've always wanted; a place of acceptance and no__w it's finally within my grasp. I'll do everything within my power to hold onto it and make a place for myself in this new world.' _

With determination, he took his belongings and left Malfoy Manner without a backwards glance. He would fix things and he would walk his own path, he'd never take orders like some animal again.

***()

Standing in the doorway to the Room of Requirements later that same day did, however, make him doubt the wisdom of actually turning up. If the unfriendly looks he was receiving were any indication, he wasn't very welcome.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here, Malfoy?" Terry Boot snarled at him from where he stood before a large table covered in books and parchment.

"Come to gloat about how you got away with everything?" Susan Bones asked scathingly.

"You should just crawl back under that rock you came out from." Lavender Brown hissed.

Draco was about to back out of the room and leave; this had obviously been a mistake on his part, when one Harry Potter suddenly stood from where he had been sitting at the back of the room. Everyone fell silent as all eyes looked to the saviour.

"I invited him." Harry said calmly, voice strong and clear in the silent room. "If you've got a problem with him being here, _you_ are welcome to leave." His voice had taken on a dark edge at the end, saying in no uncertain terms that Harry was completely serious.

The room remained silent, everyone wondering if someone was going to protest Draco being there.

The tense silence was finally broken by Neville Longbottom. The boy stood from his seat, causing people to gasp quietly in surprise. Neville picked up his book that he'd been reading before walking over to Draco, causing the blond to tense in preparation for an attack of some kind. However, Neville suddenly offered a small, semi-friendly smile that was more a grimace, as he stopped before him.

"Hey, I'm going to bed; do you want me to show you where you're sleeping while I'm at it?" He spoke as if there wasn't seven years of bad blood between them, stumping Draco into silence. In answer, Draco just nodded mutely.

***()

Once Neville and Draco had disappeared into the boys' dormitories, Ron rounded on Harry.

"Harry!" He hissed angrily.

"Not here." He muttered, quickly walking out the door, Ron angrily stomping after him as the remainder of the students remained quiet in the common room.

Ron followed Harry into an empty classroom and crossed his arms angrily as Harry closed the door behind them.

"Explain." He snapped once Harry turned to face him.

"I meant everything that I've said, Ron. Draco Malfoy is many things; but a cold-blooded killer isn't one of them. I know you don't like him and probably think he wanted everything that Voldemort stood for; but what choice did he really have? He was just another victim of this war, just like us." Harry spoke softly.

Ron remained silent for a long time, blue eyes hard and jaw tense.

"You really think we can trust him?" He asked at last.

"I think we could have a great ally and maybe, one day, friend in Draco Malfoy. I think he wants a better future just as much as we do. I think he's the same as us; he lost pieces of himself in the war, he was forced to do things he didn't want to do, he made mistakes." Harry's voice was barely a whisper as he finished, though he might as well have yelled in Ron's face for how hard those last words hit him.

Guilt once again assaulted him as he remembered his abandonment of Harry and Hermione in the Forest. It was one mistake he would never allow himself to forget. He had vowed to himself that he would never let his two closest friends, hell, his brother and sister in all but blood, down again.

"Ok, if you think this is the right thing to do." Ron sighed as he relaxed his body and ran a hand over his face.

"I'll talk to the others and help them understand." Ron continued.

"Thank you, Ron. These are the first steps for a better future, so they're bound to be some of the hardest. I'm so glad I have you there to back me up." Affection coloured Harry's tone and Ron couldn't have stopped his smile even if he'd tried.

"Let's get back before they start sending out search parties." Ron joked, causing Harry to roll his eyes, but chuckle nonetheless.

Together, the friends returned to the Common Room, ready and united as they set about reassuring distrustful minds and helping others see the reality of Draco's innocence.

So, with that anti-climatic moment over, Hogwarts became the home of all future eighth year students.

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	3. 3 Getting Along

The next chapter is here and Draco has to survive his first day in this strange place where people get along and actually seem like they want to be his friends. Also, Pansy puts to rest some of Ron's lingering doubts about his worth in the legendary Golden Trio.

I hope everyone enjoys this.

Disclaimer: Character's are not my own.

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**Chapter Three – Getting Along**

As was usual now, Draco woke from a nightmare with a start. His whole body was tense and he slowly opened his eyes, trying to even out his breathing as quickly as possible so as to not draw attention to himself. He felt momentarily disorientated at the unfamiliar surroundings. However, as he stared blankly at the many beds crammed into the room, he felt the memories of yesterday filling his mind. He was at Hogwarts, with a bunch of fellow year-mates who, for the most part, looked like they didn't like him very much, and he'd just basically disowned himself before his parents.

He sighed quietly to himself and relaxed slightly, before noticing movement as the other boys began dragging themselves out of their black draped beds surrounding him.

Slowly, he too pulled himself out of bed and began to get dressed. Not knowing what he was meant to be doing and not wishing to look like an idiot by asking someone; he followed Longbottom out of the door and through the common room area, out into the corridor outside and down the hall, through another door and into what appeared to be a large eating area.

Looking around, he was slightly saddened, but not surprised; to see Slytherin were off to one side while the other three houses seemed to be getting along fine and mixing with each other. Walking over to his fellow Slytherins, those who were awake that is, he sat down.

"Morning," Blaise greeted him quietly.

"Morning." He replied in kind. He hadn't seen Blaise in months and had feared the worst for one of his two closest friends. So he had been relived to hear a week ago that the coffee coloured man was alive and well.

It was Hermione Granger, of all people, who cut off any further conversation.

"Good morning! I'm so pleased you're up early, we can talk about what jobs you'll be assigned now. Pansy, pass the tea, please." She said it all in an easy, no-nonsense matter as she sat down across from Draco and beside Pansy, as if this kind of thing happened all the time.

Before either Pansy or Draco could say anything, Dean and Seamus came over, stepping onto the tabletop between the plates of food before Dean sat beside Draco and Seamus on Dean's other side.

"Look out Draco, Hermione's on the warpath this morning about the jobs for everyone." Dean joked as both Gryffindor boys snickered.

"I am not, and don't put your feet on the table, it's rude and disgusting." She put her nose in the air snobbishly.

"On the war-path and acting like a snob. Tell me, do you often find yourself almost drowning while having a shower; with your nose that far in the air I'd not be surprise if it was true." Seamus asked, playful smile in place as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Merlin, she has a sense of humour – who'd have guessed?" Dean then turned to Draco.

"So, have you tried the kippers yet? They're bloody marvellous."

Draco just sat there staring in shock at how open and friendly the Gryffindor's were being. As a rule, Slytherin's weren't open with their feelings, preferring subtle and discrete gestures of affection for their friends.

"No, I haven't." He finally said, still shocked.

"Oh? Here, try some." Dean pushed a plate towards him encouragingly. Draco was about to refuse when a voice behind him interrupted.

"Draco doesn't like kippers, Dean. Pass him the grape jam and he'll be happy." Harry Potter stood behind Draco, a small smile on his face as he effectively caught their attention.

"Morning all." Ron spoke up from beside Harry; then, before anyone could stop him, he climbed up on the table and over it like Dean and Seamus had.

"Ron! What have I said about doing that?" Hermione growled at him as he shrugged unrepentantly before sitting down beside Pansy.

"Don't do it, it's bad manners and disgusting, excreta." He sent her a mischievous smile before beginning to load his plate with food.

Draco was distracted by Dean moving down and Harry taking his place beside Draco, casually sliding the grape jam towards him all in one fluid motion.

"How did you know I liked grape jam?" Was the first intelligent thing out of Draco's mouth.

"I know a lot of things." Harry shrugged, a small smile lifting the corners of his mouth. Dean and Seamus snickered, but Harry merely elbowed Dean, which caused him to shut up while Seamus burst into loud laughter.

"So," Harry took a bite of toast, chewed and swallowed, before continuing. "We've split up into different groups, each with our own tasks to repair and fix-up different areas of the castle and grounds. We've done most of the small things, so we'll start working on the big stuff soon. Now that everyone's here." He gave Draco a large smile at that and Draco found his cheeks heating slightly.

"So, since everyone else was previously set up for today, you can just work with Ron as he was by himself." Harry said casually, continuing to eat his toast.

Draco sent Ron an uncomfortable look; they didn't exactly have the best history.

"Welcome to window repair duty." Ron said dryly, rolling his eyes before shoving three rashes of bacon into his mouth.

"How can you do that and not choke?" Pansy suddenly asked, looking at him and screwing up her nose in distaste.

"It's one of life's mysteries." Hermione piped up on Pansy's other side, her expression mirroring the other girls. Ron just grinned, his mouth too full for food to speak.

Draco spent the rest of breakfast feeling as though he had entered a different universe, where Harry Potter was his best friend and Voldemort's main goal in life had been to promote world peace. He listened silently to his two best friends casually talk, joke and even flirt in Pansy's case. He wasn't really sure what to think about the idea of her liking Weasley, especially when it became apparent by the glances and gentle teasing that he was returning those feelings. Harry told him about what had been done and fixed so far, as well as a few warnings about which corridors were still caved in and what staircases lead to nothing.

Draco was slightly relieved when Ron and he left; ready to take on the three floors of broken windows that still needed to be fixed.

The two were silent for all of ten minutes before Ron broke it.

"So… which Quidditch team do you think has a shot at the World Cup this year?"

"Are you serious?" Draco couldn't help asking, stopping what he was doing in favour of giving the redhead a look of disbelief.

"Hey, I'm just trying to make conversation." Ron held up his hands in surrender.

"That's my point. 'Why' are you trying to talk to me? We've disliked one another since before we first even met." Draco exclaimed, the shock of breakfast finally wearing off.

Ron sighed and leaned against the stone wall, thoughts of fixing windows momentarily forgotten.

"Look, I'm not saying we're going to be best friends or anything, but we're living in a new world. The wars over and everyone's looking towards Harry for guidance as to how we're supposed to recover and rebuild our lives. Not everyone's going to be willing to move on and accept that, while some of the Death Eaters did terrible things, some also saved many lives. I mean, look at you; I owe you for saving my brother's lives so I'm willing to trust Harry's judgement that you deserve a second chance of sorts." A hard look suddenly entered his blue eyes.

"Not that I trust you; but I'm willing to try and get along for Harry's sake." His eyes softened slightly.

"When school goes back, we'll be stuck with a bunch of children who, in the end, are our future. If we show a united front, accepting and moving on from any past mistakes people have made, then those kids will follow our example and they'll help spread that acceptance.

"This is our future, Draco. We're going to stand behind Harry and try to convince anyone who doesn't agree. If won't be easy, but the best and more important things in life never are. We're no longer fighting to survive, we're now fighting to live in a free, peaceful world." Ron shrugged slightly as his ears turned red, embarrassment hitting him as he realised what he'd just said.

"Anyway, I'm behind Harry and whatever he thinks will help." Pulling out his wand, he set to continue fixing the broken windows.

Draco stood there, deep in thought.

He didn't necessarily like Weasley or Granger, but he sure as hell didn't have some mad desire to see them killed or tortured. He'd never really even spoken to them other than to insult them before. He'd been pleasantly surprised to find out Granger had a fun, almost playful side at breakfast and now he was seeing an unquestionably loyal side of Weasley. The more he thought about it, the more he found himself wanting to be closer to the learn more about the Gryffindor students who'd sat with him that morning.

He wanted to be their friends.

With this thought in mind, Draco tentatively spoke up.

"I think the Harpies."

Seeing Ron's confused look, Draco elaborated.

"For the Quidditch World Cup this year."

The grin on Ron's face as he disagreed pulled a small answering smile from Draco.

'_If it's for Harry, I'll do a lot for him.'_

*** ()

That night Draco found himself sitting alone with Blaise, most of their classmates had already gone to bed or were on the other side of the room watching a chess match between Ron and Terry Boot.

Thinking over the day, Draco was surprised to admit that he'd actually had fun talking to Ron and when he'd seen Harry at dinner over Ron's shoulder, the smile the other boy had sent him had caused his stomach to flip in a most delicious way. There was a fair amount of pride in that smile, and Draco was almost positive that pride was directed at the fact that he was making an effort to both fit in and accept those around him.

"Blaise," Draco looked over at the boy across the small table from him. "What, exactly, is the deal with all this." He gestured to the room in general, knowing his best friend would understand. While Ron had explained it to him today, he wanted a fellow Slytherin's opinion, one unclouded by being Harry Potter's best friend.

"It's not too bad, really. With Harry doing this we'll have a secure safety net when the rest of the school comes back. I think it's a pretty good idea, actually. Though, if anyone other than Harry Potter had tried to do it, we both know it wouldn't have been half as effective as it has been so far.

"Harry's the most influential wizard in Brittan, we'd be smart to align ourselves with him; this summer will give us that chance. Also, he's not so bad once you get to know him… At least, that's what Hermione's told me about it all." Blaise finished with an almost sheepish smile crossing his face.

"Hermione? Is there something there you'd like to share with me?" Draco teased, slightly surprised at the almost dopy look that crossed his friends face. Blaise, to Draco's knowledge, had never focused on one person romantically before so this was a first.

"Nothing to tell really. Just, she's interested and single." Though he shrugged casually, there was a light blush on his face. Draco chuckled at him.

"Seriously, though Draco. I think this is a good thing, being here." Blaise gave him a serious look so he'd take it to heart, before they lapsed into casual conversation.

***()

On the other side of the room, Ron grinned as he made his final move on the chess bored, secure in the knowledge of his win against Terry.

"Check." He leaned back as Terry groaned in defeat.

"You really are good at chess." Ron looked up at the female voice coming from above him and flushed at the sight of Pansy Parkinson leaning over the back of his chair.

"Well, we've all got to be good at something." He shrugged, trying to appear casual when his stomach had suddenly filled with butterflies.

"I know that's not the only thing you're good at." Pansy said, her voice completely serious as she moved around his armchair and sat down in Terry's now vacant seat. She set up the chess bored again, her fingers lingering on the pieces as she did do.

"I dunno, I'm pretty useless at most things. Mione and Harry are the real brains." Ron shrugged, looking around the Common Room with a small frown on his face at the truth of his words.

The large crowd of people who had surrounded them when he'd been playing Terry had quickly dispersed – most of them heading off to bed. There were now only a few people in the room; either reading quietly or writing letters to loved ones.

"Hermione's smart, that I'll give you, and Harry's very brave, but you're something even better than that." Pansy said, eyes downcast for a moment before she took a deep breath and looked up their eyes locking.

"You're loyal. Once you decide to stick with someone, you don't back down, you stay with them no matter what." Pansy said quietly.

Ron felt a bitter, self-resentful smile darken his lips.

"I'm not loyal, not when it really matters."

"I don't believe that." Pansy said, voice holding that same serious tone.

"You just don't know me well enough." Ron laughed bitterly. "When we were out there, when we were searching for those things to destroy You-Know-Who, I did the worst thing I ever could to Mione and Harry." Ron shook his head, self-hatred clear in his eyes.

"You couldn't have done anything too bad, I mean, you all seem to be close still. It couldn't have been too bad." Pansy reached out and gently took his hand in her own, squeezing to offer him some comfort.

"I didn't learn anything from fourth year when Harry and me had that stupid fight. I did it all over again and, if they hadn't of been so lucky, they could have died and-" he cleared his throat, eyes unusually bright. "I don't think I could have lived with myself if they'd died before…" He trailed off before offering her another self-resenting smile.

"I'm not loyal, Pansy; not really. I left my two best friends when they needed me more than anything. I abandoned them in the middle of nowhere and I waited so long before returning. If I was seconds later… Harry would of died in that water, I think – I think he was breaking and couldn't find the energy to fight anymore. If I hadn't left, if I'd been there, maybe he'd never have done it?"

"You saved his life." Pansy said holding his hand tightly causing his eyes to flicker up to her own.

"You may have left and had a moment of stupidity, but everyone makes mistakes! What's important is that you came back! You are loyal, Ron. Not many people would've had the guts to return, they'd have been too scared of being around the Dark Lord's number one enemy. But I bet you didn't even think twice about that danger, for you it was all about getting back to your friends so you could cover their backs and protect them." She smiled softly.

"You're the most loyal person I've ever been lucky enough to meet." She said softly, before standing up and, to his surprise, she hugged him.

"It was ok to be afraid, we all were." She whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek and pulling away.

"Night, Ron." She smiled before turning away. He watched her until she'd closed the girls' dorm door behind her, and then raised a hand to his cheek where it tingled in remembrance of her soft lips. A stupid grin covered his face as his ears went red. A feeling of weightlessness engulfed him and he relaxed into the armchair, feeling better than he had in months.

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	4. 4 Times are achanging

This chapter, Draco gets a surprise in the form of an unsuspecting leadership role, gets closer to Harry and has Hermione help bring to light some hidden thoughts.

Disclaimer - character's aren't mine.

Hope you enjoy this terribly belated update.

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**Chapt****er Four – Times are a-changing **

The next few days passed in a similar manner. Breakfast was spent talking and listening to Harry as he out-lined plans and gave progress reports to Draco as they watched their best friends flirt and tease each other. This was broken up by regular interruptions and laughter from their year mates, who appeared to have begun to relax around the Slytherin's and their Ice Prince.

It was on one such day that Draco began to realise just how much was changing between the eighth years. He had been spending the morning cleaning up a bathroom on the second floor that had been damaged and, as a result, flooded. He had just finished when the door was pushed open to reveal Zacharias and Terry. Immediately, Draco was on the defensive, his fear that some of the students were merely biding their time before attacking him seemed to be coming to life before his eyes.

"Draco." Terry, however, sounded faintly relived rather than the cruel, scathing tone Draco had been expecting.

"Thank Merlin we found you! We were working on the fourth floor classroom that was caved in with the wall missing and, well…" Terry trailed off with an embarrassed blush.

"We accidently charmed it bright pink and these creepy tentacles have grown everywhere that leave a trail of slime on you if you touch them." Zacharias bluntly said, arms folded across his chest and frown in place.

"Yeah, so, we don't know what to do. What should we do?" Terry asked, looking at Draco expectantly.

Draco looked at the duo before him, stumped.

"You charmed a classroom bright pink with slimy tentacles and you're asking me what to do?" Draco clarified, not sure he'd heard them correctly.

Both boys nodded, leaving Draco to merely blink stupidly at them for a moment before his brain began working again.

"Erm… Have you told Harry?"

"No, you were closer." Terry said like it was the most obvious think in the world.

"Right, so, yeah. I'll go and ask Harry, I'm finished here anyway." Draco nodded his head to himself, still feeling very confused and perplexed about the whole situation.

"What should we do?" Zacharias asked as Draco moved towards the bathroom door.

"Um… go to lunch early?" Draco suggested, before fleeing so they couldn't ask any more questions.

Walking quickly towards the Hogwarts grounds where he knew Harry would be working on fixing the half-giant, Hagrid's, hut; Draco tried to sort out his thoughts.

Why was someone asking him what to do? This was Harry Potter's little project, not his. He was just going along for the perks of the ride. Why didn't those two ask Hermione or even Ron what to do; they were Harry's best friends so surely they'd know what to do in this situations – no matter how weird it was. Honestly, who charmed a classroom with pink tentacles? And Terry called himself a Ravenclaw.

Draco shook his head and pushed his confusion to the side as he left the castle and moved swiftly across the grounds to where Hagrid's hut once again stood. Rounding the corner, he saw Harry fiddling with the fence surrounding a vegetable patch. He went to call out to him in greeting, but something large and black caught his attention.

Looking over to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Draco felt horror wash through him at the sight of a hideous monster. While it resembled a horse, it's skeletal appearance, milky white eyes and stringy mane and tail made it look more like a horse from hell. Large, leathery, bat-like wings were folded upon it's back and twitched as it seemed to set its sights on Harry – though Draco wasn't quite sure as the things eyes had no iris.

The creature suddenly shot out of its leafy hiding place and was headed straight for Harry! It was so fast that Draco's cry of warning was too late. The beast was upon Harry, savagely attacking him with its tongue...

Harry laughed loudly, half-heartedly pushing the creature away from him as he looked over to Draco.

"Draco! Hey, what are you doing out here?" He asked, completely at ease with the beast as it nudged the side of his head for attention.

"I'm um, what is that?" Draco pointed obviously at the black horse.

"Oh, him. This is a threashal; remember Hagrid taught them to us in fifth year." Harry said easily.

Vaguely, Draco recalled the magical creatures name. With it came the memory of a confusing class where only a few students could actually see the creatures they were meant to be studying. That was because only a few students had seen death back then…

"Come say hello to him," Harry encouraged, causing Draco to blanch slightly.

"They don't bite." Harry reassured him, holding out a hand to him. Feeling extremely nervous, he'd never had a particularly good run with magical creatures, Draco inched closer to the large thing, freezing when it moved its head slightly.

"It's alright Draco, I promise he won't hurt you." Harry sent him a smile that made him feel warm inside and with a deep breath he reached out for Harry's own hand as he shuffled closer.

Grinning, Harry took his hand and moved so that he was standing with his front almost against Draco's side. Lacing his fingers through Draco's so that the palm of his hand rested against the back of Draco's hand, he reached out and gently stroked the creature's surprisingly soft nose. Draco released a small breath of air, relaxing slightly while feeling butterflies begin to flutter around in his stomach.

Focusing exclusively on the velvety softness under his fingertips – and not on the warmth of having Harry so close to him – Draco allowed his mind to wander.

This wasn't so horrible, the creature actually seemed to be enjoying it, though the milky eyes still creped him out. It was actually quite nice out here right now, clear blue skies, and a gentle breeze to stop it from becoming too hot. It was perfect weather for a picnic.

Glancing at the man beside him, Draco flushed slightly as images of the two on a picnic together flooded his mind; a large rug with a cushioning charm in place, ice-cold pumpkin juice and fresh fruits. His mind began to conjure up images of where the picnic could lead before he stopped it, pulling his hand away and looking to the ground in embarrassment.

"Um, there was a reason I came out here." Draco scrambled to try and remember that reason. It was quite difficult to do with Harry so close that Draco could feel his breath on the side of his throat each time he exhaled.

"Oh?" There was a deep quality to Harry's voice that Draco did NOT want to think about.

"Yes, um," he cleared his throat as he collected his thoughts. "Yes, Zacharias and Terry somehow charmed their classroom bright pink with tentacles that are apparently quite slimy."

There was a moment of silence in which Draco stared determinedly at the ground.

"Well, I'd better go fix it then." Draco was sure that was not a note of disappointment he heard in Harry's voice.

Harry pulled away from Draco and Draco ignored the feeling of coldness that swept over him at the loss.

"We'll see you later, boy." Harry gave the threashal one last pat before turning to walk past Draco. However, the blond was shocked when he felt a hand slip around to rest of his lower back and gently steer him back towards the castle.

Neither of them spoke until they were inside the Entrance Hall where they parted ways; and if Harry's hand had been on Draco's back for the whole time, well, neither of them was going to say anything.

***()

The end of Draco's first week back at Hogwarts found him sitting by himself in contemplative silence in a corner of the common area in the Room of Requirement. Throughout the week, people had been coming up to him and asking him how to fix things or how something should be done: ever since that first time with Zacharias and Terry. Since then, Draco had come no closer to understanding why this was happening, just that it was and no one else seemed to have a problem with it.

Sighing, Draco shifted into a more comfortable position on his over-stuffed seat. He was just entertaining the idea of writing things down to see if that helped him at all, when Hermione suddenly sat down in the seat beside him.

"It's partly Harry's fault." She said in her usual no nonsense way.

"What?" Was his intelligent reply.

"The reason people have been asking for your help. It's because of Harry, though he's not been doing it consciously so no one's called him on it yet. You see, when he sits with you in the mornings and discusses all his plans with you, it's sort of like you're the second-in-command around here." She spoke it all so simply, as if it should have been obvious.

"I would have thought Ron would have gotten that title." Draco said after a moment of digesting what she'd said.

"Ron's great at what he does, but that's not being a leader like you and Harry are. Ron's too stubborn and hot-headed to think clearly and allow for others opinions." She shrugged, not the least apologetic for her words.

"That's not a nice thing to say about your boyfriend." Draco teased slightly, also using this opportunity to fish for information in regards to Blaise's sudden crush.

"Ron, my boyfriend?" she actually laughed at that, before she looked at Draco seriously and blushed slightly.

"I don't like him as anything more than a friend. I like someone else." Her eyes flickered over to where Blaise was sitting talking away to Hannah, Susan and Harry.

"Besides, Ron likes someone else."

"Oh, and who does the redhead like?" Draco asked, surprised to feel a bit of genuine curiosity for the answer.

"Well, let's just say you know the girl quite well." She grinned at him before standing up and walking away.

Draco stared after her for a moment before an image of Pansy flirting with Ron Weasley at breakfast on his first morning here flashed through his mind.

Well, that answered that question. It seemed his two best friends were falling for Harry's two best friends: Pansy and Blaise would be pleased.

Thoughts of Harry Potter suddenly swept through him mind, causing a small blush to stain his cheeks as he shifted in his chair again. Throughout the week, whenever he entered a room, his eyes would immediately seek out the famous boy. Whenever they were in close proximity Harry seemed to find an excuse to touch him and be close. It didn't matter if it was as simple as resting his hand on his shoulder as Draco played chess in order for him to offer terrible advice, or if it was that hand to the small of his back while they walked down a corridor. At breakfast their thighs would be pressed together under the table and Draco found himself enjoying how he could feel it when Harry laughed.

Sighing quietly, Draco silently accepted the fact that he had something of a crush on his one-time schoolyard nemeses.

He looked up automatically when a loud bang came from the other side of the room followed by laughter. He didn't even notice when a small smile lit up his face as he caught Harry's laughing green eyes, the object of his new found affection stood up and, walking over the currently chicken feather covered Blaise, began making his way over to Draco. As a warm feeling filled him as it always did when Harry was around, Draco figured there were worse people he could have fallen for.

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	5. 5 Teddy Lupin

Teddy Lupin makes an appearance at Hogwarts, throwing Draco's thoughts into turmoil. Jealousy flares for Draco as he watches Hermione and Harry seemingly getting closer while the students begin putting together a celebratory party.

Disclaimer - Characters are not my own.

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**Chapter Five – Teddy Lupin **

Draco had been at Hogwarts for two weeks when they got their first visitor to the school since they had begun the restoration. Draco had walked out of the bedroom and into the eating area to find a bunch of girls cooing over a small child. The poor kid looked as if he was about to cry as he was poked and prodded.

"What's going on?" He asked, beginning to move towards the group with thoughts of saving the child from its 'tormentors', when the little boy suddenly looked up and towards the doors Draco had just entered through. The boy burst into tears and sprinted over to the doors where a surprised looking Harry Potter had just entered with Hermione. Harry easily caught the child and picked him up with practiced ease.

Draco watched in slight awe as the child's brown hair and eyes changed to messy black locks with tearful green eyes. The child looked like it could have passed as Harry's son.

"Teddy?" Harry looked at the crying lump in his arms with curiosity before he tightened his arms around him and held him close. "It's ok sweetheart, I'm here." Harry dropped a kiss to the boys' head causing the girls who had been cooing before to sigh dreamily.

"Hey Teddy; did you miss your Godfather?" Hermione moved around Harry to place a kiss on the small boys cheek, causing him to look up at her with big green eyes. There was a moment of silence before the boy nodded his head, unknowingly causing an extremely pleased smile to light up said Godfather's face.

Draco watched the little boys interactions with the two Gryffindor's with a mixture of jealousy and irritation. He was embarrassed by the jealousy he felt towards the little boy who held Harry's attention. Draco had become so used to having the majority of Harry's attention when the man was around, it was a bit like a reality check for him.

Annoyed with himself, Draco moved over to his customary seat and sat down, lost in his thoughts as he absentmindedly began preparing his breakfast of toast and grape jam.

"Draco." He looked up mid-bite, only to find Harry looking down at him with a now dry-eyed, though shy looking, Teddy in his arms. Grinning at the blond as he sat down next to him and arranged Teddy comfortably on his lap, Harry leaned in close to Teddy's ear and pretended to whisper.

"Teddy, this man here is Draco Malfoy, he's your Gramma's sister's son." His voice changed to normal. "Draco, this is Teddy Lupin, your second cousin on your mother's side." Harry said pleasantly.

Swallowing his jealousy, Draco smiled faintly at the child.

"It's nice to meet you, cousin Teddy."

The little boy blinked up at him with Harry's eyes and Draco felt ridiculous affection well inside him, pushing the jealousy aside.

"Hello Draco, it's nice to meted you." His voice was soft and reflected the shyness Draco had pegged him as having.

Harry grinning at the both of them before leaning over to stage whisper to Teddy once more.

"Draco likes the grape jam, just like you do." The little boy suddenly sat up straighter and gave Draco his full attention, green eyes impossibly wide with a look of wonder on his face.

"Really? You liked grape jam too?" He asked, as if this was the greatest discovery he'd ever made.

"Yes, I do." Draco looked at him, bemused.

"Wow! This is so cool! I've never meted anyone who liked grape jam too!" The child had become completely animated as he spoke, causing the warmth of affection to spread through Draco as he coughed to try and cover the blush on his cheeks.

"Hey, Teddy?" Harry distracted the excited child. "You can have all the grape jam you'd like on your toast this morning." Harry winked at the child, which prompted an excited clapping of hands and another bout of giggles.

Without really thinking about what he was doing, Draco mechanically made another slice of grape jam covered toast and put it on the plate before the child, who wiggled down between the two older boys.

"Thanks Draco." The adoration in Teddy's voice once again caused a small blush to stain his cheeks. However, it was his Gryffindor's approving smile that made the blush stain his cheeks a deep red. Looking down at his plate, Draco determinedly ate the rest of his breakfast in mostly silence, pausing only to respond to the child beside him when needed.

***()

"I saw that this morning." Hermione giggled as she cornered Harry in the kitchens later that night.

Thanks to the appearance of Teddy, hardly any work had been achieved that day. The girls had mostly been more interested in cooing over the five-year-old and the guys poked fun and generally slacked off. Harry had finally managed to loose his little companion for the first time all day when he'd extracted the promise of Teddy waiting for him in the makeshift Common Room.

"I have no idea what you're going on about this time." Harry said innocently as he signed the letter on the table before him.

"Oh please, you practically painted a giant arrow over Draco's head and told Teddy to like him." Hermione snorted as she leaned a hip against a bench.

"I did not." Harry gave her his best look of outraged, but from the giggles that suddenly erupted from her, he wasn't sure it was very effective.

"Merlin, Harry you're many things, but subtle will never be one of them. Just admit you want Teddy to approve of Draco – disregarding the fact that you want a five-year-olds approval for a moment." She rolled her eyes.

"Ok, so I want Teddy to like Draco. They're family, it'll be good for both of them. And I thought the whole point of this was to discourage any kind of segregation between all of us. Teddy's still young, so if he learns to like the Slytherin's early on, well, the better for all of us I say." Harry said it all honestly and for a moment he thought he'd convinced Hermione that it had been his only motivation.

"So, you're just reuniting family and promoting love and acceptance?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." He nodded.

"And the fact you're developing a rather large crush on Draco has nothing to do with this?" She snickered as he began opening and closing his mouth like an idiot.

"Hermione!"

"Sorry, but its true, isn't it? You like Draco?" She gave him a serious look.

"Well, I mean, he's not so bad." Harry fiddled with the letter in his hands and stubbornly refused to meet her eyes.

"Harry." She said softly, moving to place her hands on his shoulders and force him to look at her.

"It's ok. You're allowed to like him." She gave him a small smile.

"You don't mind?" Harry asked in a small voice.

"Course I don't! If you like him then I'll support you one hundred percent." She smiled.

"Ron'll be pissed." He muttered sullenly.

"Maybe a bit perplexed. But don't worry too much. Besides, he can't say anything about you liking Draco, not with him following after Pansy like a love-sick puppy." Hermione grinned fondly as Harry's eyes lit up with amusement.

"Serious? I thought they were just trying to be friends." Harry questioned.

"No way. There's some definite chemistry going on there. Blaise and I saw him following after her yesterday looking so sappy he didn't even notice his audience."

"Blaise, hey?" It was Harry's turn to raise an eyebrow this time as the chance to get back at Hermione for her earlier teasing practically fell into his lap.

"Oh, shut up." Hermione slapped his shoulder playfully; dopey smile on her now flushed face.

"I think I'm going to have a little chat with Blaise." Harry grinned, though there was a note of truth to his voice.

"Harry!" She blushed harder, but there was a silent delight in her brown eyes.

"What? Can't have a snake taking advantage of my only sister, can I?" He grinned as he pulled her into a playful hug as she laughed.

"Now, make yourself useful and help me find an owl to send this letter to Teddy's gramma, don't want her to worry too much about her missing grandson." Harry chuckled.

Laughing and joking with one another, the duo left the kitchens in search of an owl.

***()

Draco was just beginning to relax in the over-stuffed chair before the fire with a good book, when a small hand rested on his knee. Moving his book aside so he could see, he was surprised to see Teddy Lupin standing before him. Glancing around, Draco noted that this was the first time he'd seen Teddy without Harry since the little boy had arrived that morning.

Teddy suddenly moved closer and, without a word, scrambled up onto the young mans' lap. Draco looked down bemusedly at the mop of messy black hair snuggling into his lap and chest before it stilled with a contented sigh, tired green eyes closing.

Realising that the boys wasn't about to move any time in the foreseeable future; Draco had a moment of indecision as to whether he would say anything before he simply resumed looking over his book. The odd duo remained by the fire for another half an hour before Harry walked into the room.

Although the green-eyed git didn't actually say anything, the entertained grin on his face was enough to tell Draco what he thought of the situation. Harry stood before Draco and Teddy for a moment before reaching down and gently removing the small form from Draco's lap. He watched as Godfather and Godson disappeared into the boys sleeping area for a moment, before Harry returned alone.

"So, Teddy seems to like you." Harry sent him an amused smile as he sat down heavily on the armchair across from Draco.

"Merlin knows why." Draco sniffed, a small, pleased blush staining his cheeks. Harry just chuckled as he wiped his hand down his face and leaned back completely in the chair.

"If you're tired, go to bed." Draco said quietly after five minutes of silence, looking up from his book to see Harry sitting with his eyes closed. He frowned when the ebony haired man didn't even twitch.

"Harry… Harry?" Draco nudged the other's foot with his, but he appeared to be dead to the world.

"Lazy, stupid man. You're going to have such a sore neck in the morning by sleeping like that." Draco muttered as he put down his book and cautiously moved towards the sleeping figure.

Reaching out, Draco gently took the glasses from his face and folded them, resting them on the small side-table. He then picked up one of the throws from a near-by couch and carefully arranged it so that it covered him and would keep him warm throughout the night.

"Merlin knows, I'll never hear the end of it if you get sick." He muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Looking at his handy-work, Draco allowed a small, affectionate smile to surface before movement from the corner of his eye caused his head to snap around and an embarrassed wince to hide the smile.

Hermione Granger gave him a large smile as she moved towards him. He waited anxiously for the scornful comments and warnings that if he ever touched Harry Potter again, he'd die a most painful death, but it never came. She merely leaned over and kissed Harry's cheek in a sisterly fashion before she looked at him.

"Take good care of him."

Blushing furiously as he watched the witch calmly disappear into the girl's sleeping area, Draco wondered just how big of a moment that had really been.

***()

"So, I was thinking, maybe we should add a special room while we're doing all these renovations?" Blaise said in a would-be casual voice, but the down-turned eyes and fiddling with a desk and chair gave away the nerves he was trying to conceal.

"Hmm, that's nice." An absentminded voice answered.

Looking over in confusion, Blaise was surprised to see the normally focused Hermione Granger standing lost in thought. Her wand was limply pointing at a pile of desks that she was supposed to be organising into rows in the classroom.

"Hermione?" Blaise moved over to her before clicking his fingers in her face.

"Wha-Oh! Oh, sorry, Blaise! What were you saying?" She asked, a frown on her face, clearly annoyed at herself for spacing out like that.

"You alright there?" He asked, concern lacing his voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine; why wouldn't I be?" She asked, a fake smile lifting her lips.

"You were spacing out there, you don't do that very often. You can talk to me, you know, if you want to…" Blaise couldn't stop the blush that coloured his face a darker brown.

When she remained quiet, he felt embarrassment and panic well up inside.

"O-Or you don't have to. I know we've only really talked the last few weeks and all so you probably don't really trust me yet. No that I think you have trust issues!" He exclaimed, horrified he was babbling so badly in front of his crush.

"I'm worried about Harry and Draco." She cut off his attempt to mortify himself further.

"What's wrong with them?" Blaise asked, privately stumbling over the strangeness that was Draco and Harry in the same sentence without any kid of annoyance or hatred involved.

"Well, it's just, haven't you seen them around each other recently?" She asked, before sighing in exasperation at the blank look on his face.

"Haven't you noticed how, as soon as Draco walks into the room, Harry's attention in completely focused on him? Or how Draco's always blushing and staring at Harry when he thinks no one's looking?" She bit her lip in worry.

"Yeah, so they like each other." Blaise shrugged his shoulders, as if it was all that simple.

"That's just it though." Hermione exclaimed, brown eyes large and bright.

"They've only really just started getting to know each other and, well anyone with eyes knew they've had a thing for each other since first year. But, I think, they're finally able to do something about those feelings." She gave him a frown.

"How is that bad? If they like each other, why shouldn't they act on their feelings?" Blaise asked, confused.

"Blaise, don't you think it's going to cause a bit of an uproar in society? I know Harry hates his fame, but it's not going to suddenly disappear just because he values someone's love and affection more. I just-" She let out a loud breath, emotion clear in her voice.

"I don't want to see Harry get hurt again. I don't want either of them to get hurt." She rubbed furiously at suspiciously bright eyes.

Blaise frowned himself as thoughts spun around his head. He knew there'd always been something about Harry Potter that Draco hadn't been able to brush off and ignore like most other things in life. He knew that the past seven years, even if Draco had decided he liked Harry in any way, there would have been no way he could have acted on those feelings. Everyone had been so set in their own pre-destined roles in life that any attempt to change had been met with unyielding opposition.

But this was supposed to be a new future they were building.

"You know," Blaise began slowly, not looking at her as he spoke. "When the war ended, I didn't expect to have much of a future here in Brittan, I was going to go with my family to Italy where the war wasn't as relevant. But then I got your letter." He looked over at her, to see her watching him avidly, like he held the answer to her most important test questions.

"You spoke of this new future you wanted me to be a part of. A place where I would be free to be myself, to chase after my dreams, to love whomever I wanted to." He blushed slightly but pressed on.

"If all this is possible for me, why can't it be the same for Draco and Harry?" He asked softly.

She sighed and shook her head.

"I know, we're trying to make a better future, it's just… you'd think after the war and everything, we'd be able to catch a break, to just be able to go with the flow and have it take us where we want to be.

"I know if Harry and Draco really want this, they'll fight for it with everything they've got. I just wish they didn't have to fight so hard for everything they want. Just once, I wish Harry could have something without having to fight and loose something or someone just to get one tiny thing."

She sat down on one of the desks with a frustrated sigh. Walking over, Blaise sat down next to her.

"He's really lucky, you know." He said quietly, continuing when she sent him a confused look.

"Harry's really lucky to have you, someone who cares so much for him. Who's willing to follow him right into hell without a backwards glance."

"He didn't want us to, Ron and me I mean. Harry kept trying to keep us away from the danger, we told him, we'd already had enough chances to turn away, we were in it for the long haul. He's such a sweet guy, I can't understand how someone who's lost so much could be so giving or loving." She suddenly shook her head, as if just realising where she was and whom she was talking to.

"Sorry, I got carried away by my thoughts. The point of it all, was just that I'm worried Harry and Draco will be up against some strong opposition if they want to act on their feelings." She gave him a small smile that didn't reach her eyes before standing up and resuming the task of setting up the classroom.

"Well, they'll have plenty of support, we'll be behind them and protect them." Blaise said seriously, locking eyes with the muggle-born witch for a moment before she nodded slightly in agreement, her tense features relaxing slightly.

"So, I was thinking, while we're doing all these renovations, why not add in a room that's like a communal common room?" Blaise changed the subject.

***()

It had been three days since Teddy Lupin had appeared at Hogwarts. In that time Draco had found himself full of conflicting thoughts and emotions. It was all because of the second morning with Teddy. He had grabbed hold of Draco's right hand and Harry's left before dragging them down to the breakfast table.

As if that hadn't of been enough, the little boy had changed his eyes so that they were now the same silver grey colour as Draco's. When the girls had seen they'd begun cooing over how cute it was. It was like Teddy was Harry and Draco's son; with the messy black locks and the bright, silver-grey eyes.

Draco had been unable to think about anything other than Harry, himself and children all breakfast. It was not a good idea to be crushing on his schoolyard nemesis. Not only would it be the scandal of the year; but no one would really accept it. They might say they did, but Draco would be able to see the disgust and resentment in their eyes whenever they thought Harry wasn't looking.

So, it was with this in mind, that Draco had begun to avoid the savoir of the wizarding world. So far, he's managed to do it, though from the looks his new behaviour was sparking, he was sure it was wouldn't be long before someone cornered him about it.

Sitting in his now customary seat in the common room area, Draco was attempting to read and not allow his thoughts to wander to his present avoidee. He was interrupted by Pansy entering the room and marching over to him with determination.

"Draco Malfoy, what the hell is your problem?" She asked, coming to stop before his seated form and placing her fists on her hips.

Sighing, Draco closed his book and set it aside, knowing there was no way of getting out of this without talking to her. Besides, talking to someone could help him as well, or at the very least highlight his reasons for not doing anything with his feelings.

"I think I like Potter and, as you know, I can't." Draco said plainly, hoping that this would be a fairly short and painless talk.

To his surprise, Pansy snorted in a very un-ladylike manner before sighing in exasperation.

"You, Draco Lucius Malfoy, are an idiot who needs to grow up." He looked at her in blank shock. Taking pity on his confused face, she softened her stance and tone.

"This is a new world we're living in Draco. We can like whomever we want and they can like us back, no one's here to tell you what's right and wrong. Hell, I'm hot for Ron Weasley, of all people. Thanks to Harry, its all ok, no one minds." She smiled at him, not blushing at all thanks to her confession; she was completely confident of her feelings for the red head.

"I'm not saying it's going to be easy liking who we like and, I'm sure, there'll be times when it's not much fun either. But it will be ok in the long run, we will get there." She reached down to hold his shoulders and looked at him seriously, but a small smile lurked at the corner of her lips.

"It's ok that you like Harry, most of us already know anyway." He flushed at that comment, causing an amused spark to shine in her eyes. "So, stop avoiding him and embrace the fact that you're allowed – even encouraged – to like him." Pulling away she turned for the door. Just as she was about to leave he called out, making her stop and look back.

"Thanks," was all he said, but she just smiled and left him to his own thoughts.

Pansy did have a point. It was just as everyone was saying; this was a new world and if Draco Malfoy had a chance to be with Harry Potter, why shouldn't he take it?

If these feelings really were what he thought they were, then he'd be a fool not to take this chance. If it turned out that Harry wanted him as well, then… well, that'd be perfect. He'd get more than he could ever have hoped for.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden arrival of a quiet Teddy Lupin.

Draco silently allowed the child to clamber onto his lap and settle down. They were both silent for a moment when a shy voice spoke up.

"Uncle Harry's been sad that you've not been around lately." Teddy shyly looked up at Draco through his messy black bangs.

Reaching out, Draco gently hugged the small boy to his chest, allowing a feeling of happiness to slowly engulf him.

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll be around from now on." Draco quietly promised, truly meaning it.

***()

The next morning when Draco sat down beside Harry at breakfast, the smile the other man sent him left Draco feeling breathless and slightly dizzy. The constant touches of affection Harry continually bestowed upon him left his cheeks pink and eyes continually flickering down in an almost bashful manner.

The rest of the week ran smoothly with Draco finding himself almost always in the company of Harry and Teddy. It was with tearful purple eyes and electric blue hair that Teddy bid farewell to them as his Granny had come to pick him up.

Once Teddy was gone, Draco looked around for Harry who had disappeared as soon as Teddy had gone through the floo. It took him a while, but Draco eventually found Harry sitting on his bed with a photo album on his lap.

Seeing Draco, Harry silently beckoned him over, moving so Draco could lean back against the headboard beside him. He waited until Draco was settled before moving the album between them.

Draco watched silently as Harry slowly went through each photo, quietly talking about who was in it and what was happening. Draco watched as Harry spoke of the people he'd never met, of his parents on their wedding day, Sirius Black buying him a broom for his first birthday and many other bits of information Draco knew were second-hand. He didn't speak as Harry showed him one of the few photos of Remus and Tonks Lupin with their baby boy, Teddy. He listened to Harry as he spoke of his early Hogwarts years, fingertips just barely brushing over the younger images of their year mates affectionately.

Draco still didn't say anything when Harry's voice chocked and then died completely. He just reached over and pulled the younger man to his chest, feeling fingers twist into his shirt, he held Harry as he cried. Draco didn't say a word; what could you say when 'it'll be ok' isn't true?

They stayed that way for a long time before Harry's sobs died out and they just sat in a comfortable silence. After a while Harry pushed himself up and looked into Draco's eyes. Slowly, almost shyly, Harry leaned in close and Draco didn't pull away as their lips met in a gentle greeting. The kiss wasn't fireworks or stars: it was shy, but full of promise for the future.

Finally, Harry pulled back and smiled slightly, Draco giving him an answering smile. He leaned back into the warmth of Draco's chest and the two remained in a comfortable silence for the rest of the evening.

***()

"So, I was thinking," Hermione cleared her throat at breakfast a few days after Teddy Lupin's departure.

"Look out." Ron snorted, earning himself a sharp glare from Hermione and a kicked shin from Harry.

"You were thinking?" Pansy asked politely, ignoring the groaning man beside her.

"Yes, well; we're all been working quite hard lately, finishing off the Great Hall and everything. So how about tonight we have a party in the Hall to celebrate all that we've achieved so far?" She gave them a barely suppressed look of excitement.

"A party?" Blaise echoed, blinking in surprise.

"Yes…"

Draco watched as the easy-going manner in which the young woman had been sitting tensed, the sparkle in her brown eyes disappearing in the face of possible rejection. He was surprised by the difference that could be seen from just a small sign of disorder among friends. He'd never seen Hermione like this, usually she was quite happy to argue away with everyone until they accepted defeat.

"I think it's a great idea, Mione." Harry's soft voice suddenly spoke up from Draco's side. Looking at the saviour, Draco noticed the soft, affectionate look in his green eyes as they looked at the brunette across the table. Immediately, Draco felt jealousy and confusion well up inside him. Why was Harry looking at her like that? She said she liked someone else when he'd asked her about Ron, but what if she'd been thinking about Harry and had just happened to look in Blaise's direction?

The relief on her face at Harry's acceptance of her idea was clear and before any more could be said on the matter she stood up.

"Well, I'll get a few things from my room and then we can organise everything." She quickly turned and walked briskly from the eating room.

"I'll be back in a moment." Harry said, eyes trained on the retreating figure as he stood and followed her out.

"What's wrong with her?" Pansy asked quietly once the two were out of earshot.

"Well," Ron hesitated for a moment, clearly debating if he should be telling his once rivals anything before he shook his head and leaned in closer to the three Slytherin's so that they wouldn't be overheard.

"Last year, after sixth year, Harry was given a task by Dumbledore so Mione and me told him that we'd go with him. To keep her parent's safe, Mione altered their memories so they didn't even know who she was anymore and sent them off to Australia. As you can imagine, they weren't very happy when she reversed the spell. Now, Harry wouldn't tell me much, but he warned me not to mention her parents at all. I think she got an owl earlier this morning and she looked pretty upset with whatever it said." Ron looked troubled as he stared down at his plate.

"What does this have to do with having a party though?" Pansy asked curiously.

"Well, Mione functions best when she's got lots of work to do. Organising a party will keep her completely occupied all day." Ron shrugged.

Draco remained seated for another few minutes before he claimed to need the bathroom. Leaving the food room, he walked down the hall quietly to where he could hear quiet whispers.

"-didn't think they'd go this far." Hermione's tearful voice sobbed.

Creeping along, Draco peeked through the half-open doorway to see Harry hugging the crying girl.

"I'm sorry." He said softly.

"Wh-what am I going to d-do? I've got n-n-nothing now! I'm all a-alone!" She cried louder, hands fisting the material over his chest in a desperate gesture.

"Don't be silly!" Harry said, pulling away from her and leaning down slightly to look into her tearful brown eyes.

"You've got the Weasley's – they'll never leave you alone, you're part of the family. And even if they, for some reason, couldn't help you, you've got me. You'll always have me and I'll always look after you." He dropped the serious face in favour of a boyish smile.

"That's what brother's are for."

His last words made her cry harder and she pulled him close, burying her face in his chest as he chuckled and rubbed her back.

"What did I d-do to have you in my life, Harry Potter?" She asked, giggling through her tears.

"You must have really pissed someone off in a pervious life." He joked; causing more laughter, as she pulled away of her own accord and whipped her eyes with a tissue Harry conjured for her.

"It's going to be ok, Mione. You've still got a huge family that's forever growing to watch your back." Harry said seriously as she composed herself.

"One day, you're going to make someone very happy, Harry." She said seriously, thought it made a small blush stain Harry's cheeks before he pulled her close with one arm.

"If you're feeling well enough to tease me, I think you're well enough to star planning for tonight." He said, beginning to move towards the door.

Draco scampered away as quickly and as quietly as he could. He did not want to be caught eavesdropping on what had been such a personal moment. Hiding behind a tapestry, he let out a small breath he had been holding when the duo passed without knowing he was there.

The feeling of guilt welled up inside of him. After everything, he'd thought Harry and Hermione were crushing on one another when it couldn't have been further from the truth. They loved one another in a sibling fashion; it had nothing to do with romance at all!

He waited another minute before schooling his features and returning to his breakfast where he found Hermione telling off Ron as everyone else laughed at the blushing boy's misfortune. If he hadn't of known any better, Draco would have thought it was just a normal morning.

***()

The party was in full swing that night. Seamus had appeared with five barrels of fire-whisky, much to Hermione's exasperation, which were being quickly depleted as people became drunker, dancing and acting stupid in the now completely fixed Great Hall.

Sitting in a sort of circle in a semi-sober state were most of the Gryffindor's and Slytherin's. Pansy had happily seated herself on Ron's lap as soon as the redhead had sat down while Hermione was sitting at a right angle to Blaise on a couch, her legs lying across his lap. Seamus had managed to snag a spot on Dean's lap, the slightly drunk Irish man happily playing with the collar on his seat's shirt. Theodore and Millicent had made themselves comfortable on a rug they'd spread onto the floor while Draco found himself on a small couch with Harry beside him; their whole side pressed together and Harry had casually slung his arm along the back of the couch behind Draco's head.

Making sure not to focus on his close proximity to the boy he was crushing on; Draco instead focused on the stories the teens were sharing.

"Oh, I know! Second year, just after Christmas holidays; why were you in the hospital wing for so long?" Pansy asked Hermione, causing Ron to laugh and Harry to choke on his drink in amusement.

"Well, that was the year with the 'heir of Slytherin' rubbish. Harry and Ron were convinced it was Draco, but there was no proof." Ron cut her off.

"Oi! You were quite happy to believe it was him as well; if I remember correctly the whole thing was your crack-pot idea!" He said indigently.

"Yes, well, be that as it may," she sent him a nasty look as her cheeks flushed.

"I'd have made a good Heir of Slytherin." Draco remarked thoughtfully.

"You were the Ice Prince of Slytherin, it's practically the same thing." Dean rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, so what's Draco got to do with your hospital stay?" Pansy pushed on curiously.

"I'm getting to that. Well, we needed a way to confirm our suspicions so I remembered this potion I'd read about that could change someone to physically look like another person for an hour." This time it was Theo who interrupted her.

"You made a polijuice potion when you were twelve?" He gave her an impressed look.

"Obviously you botched it and ended up in the hospital wing." Millicent guessed.

"Oh, no, it was perfect. Ron and I went down to the Slytherin common room and Draco confirmed he wasn't the heir." Harry said simply, though his green eyes were alight with silent laughter.

"Wait, I'm lost." Blaise looked at the Golden Trio in confusion, two thirds of it shaking with silent laughter, as the last third steadily blushed harder.

"Oh, for heavens sake! I accidently got cat hair, not human hair and the potion was never meant for animal transformation." She blushed bright red and crossed her arms defensively.

"A cat!" Everyone exclaimed in shocked surprise.

"She was coughing up fur-balls for two weeks, she even had a tail!" Ron howled with laughter; this causing a spark to entre Hermione's eyes.

"I seem to recall you not finding it so funny when you went into the Forbidden Forest and met the king of arachnids – Aragon." Draco had never seen someone pale quite so fast, however Ron shut up while Harry sniggered louder.

"Don't even get me started on you, Harry Potter! What foolish twelve-year-old takes on a 50-foot Basalisk?" She asked rhetorically. Harry raised an eyebrow at her as his green eyes sparkled like her brown ones.

"At least I didn't free Sirius Black from Hogwarts holding cells when I was thirteen."

"I didn't defeat a giant chess set when I was eleven!"

"I didn't found an illegal defence association when I was fifteen."

"I didn't smuggle a baby dragon out of Hogwarts at eleven!"

"You drove off over 100 dementors at thirteen."

"You used a time-turner to save a hippogriff!"

"You used a DRAGON to escape after breaking into Gringots vaults!"

The trio finally stopped for a moment before Ron suddenly grinned.

"That was awesome, by the way." He said, causing Harry and Hermione to laugh as everyone looked on in shock.

"So, you've not done much." Seamus asked casually, causing laughter as conversation resumed with the Golden Trio relating stories of adventures they'd had over the years.

* * *

Please Review


	6. 6 Reality Check

Draco has a bit of a freak out over public opinions, Draco and Harry's relationship finds solid ground and Harry had a birthday party.

Someone pointed out that Teddy is older than he should be in the books. If you'll note, at the beginning of this story I mentioned that there would be a few differecens from the cannon, I'll just repost them incase anyone else has missed them.

**Important!**

**Fred did NOT die. I had to change this as I can honestly not see Ron being at all forgiving about it and I need his support behind Harry 100%.**  
**Similarly, Snape did NOT die. He was just severely injured and is spending the entire summer in Mungo's recovering.**  
**Also, Teddy was born a few years before the end of the war, making him about five in this story. Remus and Tonks still died in the war, but a little earlier, when Teddy was about two.**  
**Draco never took the Dark Mark.**

Sadly, this story is almost at its close. There's only 1-2 more chapters left, depending on how something turns out.

Disclaimer - Character's aren't mine

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**Chapter Six – Reality Check**

Draco woke the next morning feeling sluggish with a bit of a headache and the taste of something foul in his mouth. Blinking slowly, he saw Pansy move into his line of sight and silently hand him a small vial of hangover potion. Taking it and downing it quickly, Draco was relived to find his mind clear and the headache leave.

Sitting up he became aware of his surroundings and realised he was still in the hall and had been sleeping on the small couch he had been sharing with Harry the night before. Looking around there were still a few people either passed out or slowly rousing from sleep.

The sound of angry voices in the entrance hall suddenly caught his attention. Looking over he could see the large doors separating the Great Hall were shut securely.

"What's going on?" He asked, realising his fellow Slytherin's were now sitting down around him, but their Gryffindor friends were missing.

"I don't care about any of yeh questions! This 'ere is private property and you lot 're all trespassin'!" Seamus Finnigan's voice floated to them, sounding furious.

"The press have heard about Harry's work here so they turned up this morning." Pansy said quietly.

"What? Why are we just sitting here then, we need to help him get rid of the vultures!" Draco moved to stand, but Blaise grabbed his arm.

"We won't help him by going out there." He said quietly. Draco was about to question the stupidity of that statement when Ron's voice exploded.

"You can take your accusations of death eater harbouring and shove them where the sun don't shine!"

Draco felt his blood chill at the words as the full situation hit him. This harassment was all because of him; it was all his fault that these vultures were hounding Harry and the others. It was always going to be this way, he realised. If he was around Harry, people wouldn't give Harry any rest and it would all be because of Draco.

Feeling sick, Draco quickly left through a side door, ignoring the concerned voices of his friends who told him to stay. He moved quickly and once he was sure no one was following him, he took off running as fast as he could away from the awful truth. He ran until he found himself in the half fixed owlery, sitting on a bare bit of wood in despair.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there, only that it was a while before Harry himself finally found him. As soon as his eyes landed on the black-haired man, Draco felt his emotions get the best of him as he leapt to his feet.

"It didn't mean anything! That kiss was just a spur of the moment kind of thing. We're nothing more than acquaintances – we'll ne-never be anything m-more." Though he tried to keep his emotions under control, he couldn't stop it as tears filled his eyes and unexpected, chocked sobs were torn from his throat.

Life just wasn't fair! He really liked Harry, but he couldn't allow for people to be so intrusive and hurtful towards the man. Draco wouldn't care if it were only him they were going for, but to bring Harry into it… Draco just couldn't allow that to happen!

"Draco, don't you get it?" Harry spoke softly, taking a few steps towards the tearful man.

"You're worth it, you're worth everything. It's not your fault people are so stupid and idiotic. Besides, I'm not going to let you say it all means nothing when I like you this much – hell, I'm pretty sure it might even be the beginnings love!" Harry took another step closer, but Draco backed up.

"I know it's a big change and it's scary. But I'll wait for you to make your choice. I'll wait forever if I have to." Harry gave him a small, slightly sad smile before he backed away and left Draco to his own thoughts.

Draco spent the rest of the day pathetically hiding in the owlary. No one except a house elf baring food disturbed him. His thoughts didn't tell him anything, just went around and around in circles of never-ending confusion.

He was fully intending to spend at least the next few days, if not the rest of his life, hidden in the Hogwarts owlary when Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley crushed that plan.

They stormed the owlary early the next morning, allowing just enough time for him to finish his breakfast.

"Right, this is stupid, Draco." Hermione said, clearly not happy.

"Yeah, you're being a stupid prat." Ron agreed, tapping a rolled up newspaper against his own arm as he spoke.

"So, you've come up here to beat me to death with a newspaper?" Draco asked pathetically from his still seated position.

"No, you prat. You're going to read this article, then listen to us, before you go and beg Harry for forgiveness because you've been acting like a fool." Hermione said as Ron chucked the paper at him.

Curious despite himself, Draco unrolled the paper and was only slightly surprised to see a picture of Harry on the cover.

'_Harry Potter – Leading a Revolution?'_

Draco read the article with increasing surprise and silent joy. A warm feeling filled his chest as the support and belief Harry had in him and his friends was glaringly apparent. Harry hadn't just answered the slightly intrusive and rude questions – he'd answered them, chewed out the rude reporter and effectively threw the question back in their face.

Finishing the article, he looked up with conflicting silver eyes.

"Draco; Harry loves you – he's always been crazy about you. From the very first time he met you, he's always wanted to know everything there is to know about you." Hermione said in a more gentle tone.

"Yeah, and we know you really like him too, Pansy said so." Ron nodded.

"So, don't hurt Harry, ok? He's out little brother and we're trusting you to keep him happy." Hermione gave Draco a beautiful smile and suddenly Draco could understand with perfect clarity why Harry treasured these two above others and why his own best friends were falling for them.

Taking a deep breath, Draco gave into his own selfish desires.

***()

Draco followed Hermione's directions down to the first floor corridor of the East side of the castle. Finding the large double doors that looked as if they were never opened, he stopped. Taking a deep breath and pushing his nerves to the back of his mind, Draco pushed the door open and peaked inside.

It was a huge circular room that hadn't been used in decades by the look of the layers upon layers of dust and cobwebs. Clearly the House Elves hadn't been here in a while. There was a pile of old school desks staked up to one side of the room as well as a few other pieces of furniture and chairs. A large chandelier hung from the ceiling, but it was empty of any candles.

A huge window seat was opposite the door and sitting there was one Harry Potter.

Swallowing, Draco forced himself to walk over to the other man who remained staring out the window.

"Harry?" Draco called out softly. A slight tilt of the head was the only acknowledgement he got.

"Harry, I-I'm sorry." Draco stumbled over his words slightly, feeling terrified and honestly guilty at the same time.

"You were right, I am scared – but not for me – for you. I don't really care what people say about me, it's normally true anyway. But they shouldn't say things about you! You're just too good of a person to have those gossipmongers after you. It's not fair!"

Draco bit his bottom lip and clenched his fists at his sides in frustration.

"But I," he swallowed around his suddenly tight throat. "But I can't help but want to be with you. I'm so tired of being denied what I want. I just, I want you more than I've ever wanted anything in my life." He forced himself to keep his eyes trained on Harry, desperately hoping for some kind of reaction before he went stir-crazy.

"I want you, too." Harry finally turned bright emerald green eyes onto the paler man.

An unbidden smile stretched across his face as Harry reached out for his hand and pulled him down so he was seated between Harry's legs, his back against a strong chest and tanned arms wrapped securely around his middle.

"I know its fast, but I feel as if I never want to let you go. I want you to stay with me." Harry's warm breath whispered by Draco's ear and he shivered in pleasure.

"I want to stay." Draco gripped Harry's hands, intertwining their fingers and resting them over Draco's abdomen comfortably.

They sat in silence for a while after that, just content in their small moment of peace together. It was finally Draco who broke the silence.

"What, exactly, were you doing down here anyway?"

"Hmm? Oh, Mione has been talking with Blaise about the idea of creating a communal common room for the four houses. I thought it'd be a great idea to help with building links of communication and friendship between the houses. This is the room she thought might be suitable." Harry's voice rumbled in his chest and Draco pushed back slightly, enjoying the vibrations he could feel.

"That sounds like a pretty good idea. We'll have to get everyone involved with it." Draco smiled as the arms around him tightened slightly in agreement.

"Yeah, it's going to be a hard but worthwhile project. I can't believe we've never had one before."

"Well we had the Great Hall." Draco reasoned.

"Not the same, we had to sit in house groups. This common room will be completely unified, no house boundaries." Harry's thumb absentmindedly stroked the soft skin of Draco's wrist.

"Hmm, I like the sound of that." Draco smiled softly, eyes sliding closed in contentment. It really did sound good.

***()

The next morning when Draco walked into the Great Hall for breakfast holding hands with Harry Potter, he was blushing thanks to the wolf-whistles, catcalls, cheers and well wishes. As Harry casually curled an arm around his waist as they ate, Draco couldn't help but glow with pride and happiness.

After that, things fell into a fairly normal routine. The castle was full of jobs for them all to complete and when they weren't doing that there was plenty of joking and laughter to share. Draco had never felt so happy and carefree in all his life. The idea of the communal common room had been a hit and many of the students spent their free time adding to it.

It was on the 30th of July when Hermione took him aside just after breakfast. Curiously asking her what she wanted, she smiled before gently teasing him.

"You'll want to buy him something nice for his birthday, won't you?"

Draco flushed at her words, silently kicking himself for forgetting such an important date!

"What am I going to get him?" Draco fretted, mind turning out hundreds of ideas, which were all promptly rejected. He needed to find the perfect gift for Harry.

"That's why we're leaving early. Ron is going to cover for us so no worries." She said as she pulled him along, away from the castle so that they could go shopping.

Though she had been positive and full of ideas and suggestions, Draco just couldn't seem to find the right present for Harry. They were running out of time and Draco was no closer to finding a gift, when a sudden loud squawk caught his attention. Looking over, he could see a pure black owl staring back at him with almost silver coloured eyes. Though the owl looked ferocious and almost evil upon first glance, its eyes were surprisingly soft and, realising it had Draco's attention, it hooted softly in welcome.

Walking over to it and reaching out to stroke its soft feathers, the owl nibbled gently on his finger before fluffing its feathers and relaxing into Draco's petting.

"Oh, he's gorgeous!" Hermione appeared from behind Draco, though the owl appeared unaffected by the abrupt arrival.

"You know, Harry lost Headwig in the war. I'm sure he'd love a new companion." She slyly mentioned.

Draco sent her his famous smirk.

"That's just what I was thinking."

"I'm half expecting them to grab their wands and start hexing us." Blaise said quietly from his position beside Draco, untouched pumpkin juice held in his hand.

"I bet they're thinking about it too. They're only restraining themselves for Harry's sake." Pansy muttered from Draco's other side.

"They won't do anything while Harry's here." Draco took a tiny sip of the drink he'd been careful to grab before the 'outside' guests had arrived.

The front lawns of Hogwarts were playing host to Harry's birthday party. It was the first time in a month that someone other than the students – and reporters – had been on Hogwarts soil.

Many people – some of which were surprisingly high up Ministry officials – were gathered here and had wasted little time in pulling their Gryffindor friends away. The Slytherin's had slowly found themselves in a small group together, politely ignoring the – at times – scathing looks being sent their way.

Draco allowed his eyes to wander as he took another sip of his drink.

"How does Harry even know half these people?" Blaise asked, eyeing the Head Auora, Kingsly Shackelbolt.

"Isn't that Mudges Flecture – a thief – joking around with the Head of the Auora Department?" Theo quietly questioned, slight disbelief in his voice.

"That there is Flur Delacur, the Tri-Wizard Champion, isn't it?" Millicent subtly nodded her head towards the half-veela.

"Yes, she's married to the eldest Weasley, Bill, the curse breaker." Draco said from behind the rim of his goblet, recalling Ron having mentioned it in passing.

"Which one's Bill? All those Weasley boys look the same." Theo snorted as his eyes searched for the man of their conversation.

"He's the one who looks like he was mauled by a werewolf." Pansy said.

"Merlin – what happened to him?" Theo exclaimed when he spotted the scared face.

"He was mauled by a werewolf." Draco said dryly.

"Draco!" A child's voice rang out suddenly. Looking over a little grey eyed, electric blue haired boy of five was running over to him with open arms. Catching the child in his arms, Draco easily sat him comfortably on his hip, all without spilling his drink.

"Hello, cousin Teddy," Draco smiled slightly at the boy, a feeling of ridiculous happiness filling him that there was someone here who didn't seem to hate him on sight alone.

The young boy giggled at the blond, sounding delighted with the familiar term.

"Say, Teddy?" Pansy leaned over with a too innocent smile on her face.

"I was wondering if you could tell us how Head Auora Kingsly Shacklebolt knows Mudges Flecture."

'_She's pumping a five-year-old for information!'_ Draco thought, only slightly scandalized.

"Kingsley and Dung?" Teddy tilted his head to the side as if in thought. "Well, from what Aunty Mione said, most of the grown-ups were together in the war. She said that they were all friends with Harry and that even my mama and daddy were their friends!" The child once again looked thrilled by this piece of information.

"Granny Molly says they fort against bad wizards, just like the superhero's on TV do! When I asked Uncle Ron if Harry was a superhero he wouldn't answer me for ages! But he said Harry was a hero, but didn't want anyone to know cos it's a secret." Big grey eyes suddenly became impossibly wide as he turned to the Slytherins.

"You won't tell that I told you, will you?"

"No, we won't say anything – it'll be our little secret." Pansy tapped his nose, causing giggles to spill forth again.

"Someone looks like they're having fun." Hermione's voice broke into their little group as she approached them all with a tray of food and drink.

"Mione! Can I have some sweets?" Teddy held out a hand hopefully, his other arm wrapped around Draco's neck to keep his balance.

"What's the magic word?" She asked, smile twitching at the corner of her lips.

"Please!" Teddy giggled.

Handing over a few sweets, Teddy wiggled to be let down before running off to Harry himself and proudly sharing his sweets with him.

"Here, these are potion, spell, hex and curse free. I made sure to hide them before the twins got here." Her voice was dry as she passed out food and drinks to the thankful Slytherin's.

"I'm sorry about them, they're all being absolute prat's. Harry's not going to put up with much more at the rate they're going." Hermione glanced at Harry, who Draco noticed looked fairly tense.

"It was to be expected." Pansy sighed, taking a bite out of her cake.

"It's not your fault people are idiots." Blaise said comfortingly, hand moving to rest on her arm in silent support. She flashed him a thankful smile when there was suddenly a shout of warning before the table with the drinks on the other side of the party went over. Everyone's attention immediately went to the sobbing child who was now covered in pumpkin juice.

Draco, however, was distracted from the very loud and wet spectacle by a hand suddenly grabbing his own and before he knew it a silky, invisible material was draped over him and he found himself in familiar arms.

"Just follow," Harry's voice whispered in his ear. Nodding his head, then realising he'd not be able to see; Draco squeezed one of the hands resting on his abdomen and followed silently as Harry pulled him away from the large and noisy group.

They came to a stop at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, the party still in sight, but they were hidden from prying eyes.

An invisibility cloak was ripped away from them and before Draco could do more than blink at Harry's sudden appearance, he was roughly shoved against a tree trunk, Harry's solid body pressed tightly against his own. Lips pressed insistently against his own and he relaxed, arms moving up and wrapping around Harry's waist.

Pulling away slowly, Harry gave him an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry about that lot. Don't worry, they'll grow to like you." He reassured him.

Draco was prevented from saying anything else as Harry kissed him again.

"What do you say we go watch the stars from the astronomy tower?" Harry suggested, pulling away and holding out a hand in invitation.

"It's the middle of the afternoon, the stars won't be visible for hours yet." Draco protested.

"So?" Harry grinned.

Smirking slightly, and ignoring the heat now coming from his cheeks, Draco happily accepted his hand and allowed him to pull them away.

"Won't they be annoyed you're ditching them?" Draco asked, more out of a feeling of obligation than any real concern.

Harry paused in their escape, glancing back at the group laughing and joking.

"Nah, they'll live." Harry sent him a boyish grin, allowing Draco to completely relax as he was pulled along.

The two spent the remainder of the afternoon and evening sitting in the still half destroyed astronomy tower. Draco snuggled into Harry, resting against the firm chest, tan arms wrapped around him creating a pleasant weight. They watched the stars, as they slowly appeared, the silence between them more comforting than any words.

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